Wild card is Giants’ only chance now

THE 3-BLOG LOUNGE: Two days into the Atlanta series, I’m reminded of a hilarious comment from Giants manager Felipe Alou last year. It was right about now — August giving way to September — when he said, “The wild card is the purgatory of the lost. It’s a place where souls go and wait millions of years until redemption.”

Sadly, it seems that a wild-card berth is the Giants’ only chance for the playoffs. They’re not only six games behind the Dodgers, they also have San Diego ahead of them in the N.L. West. How odd is it, in fact, that the Giants are chasing the Dodgers in one race and San Diego in another? They trail San Diego by three games in the wild-card standings, and the Padres — clearly upset with management over a lack of activity at the July 31 trading deadline — seem rejuvanted after a couple of recent (admittedly minor) acquisitions. The way Trevor Hoffman looked in relief last night, absolutely humiliating people with his sinking changeups, those good-time Friars have to feel good about themselves at the moment.

Fans won’t see Merkin Valdez in September because of an injury. Top pick Lincecum? San Jose manager says kid has “best stuff he’s ever seen.”

At this writing, San Diego also stands a reasonable chance of picking up David Wells from the Red Sox. The Dodgers were asked to give up one of their top minor leaguers — outfielder Matt Kemp, first baseman James Loney or third baseman Andy LaRoche — and one can only assume that GM Ned Colletti broke out laughing . . . The Giants have called up the usual suspects for the 40-man roster allowance, and wow, is it an unimpressive list. A bunch of guys all set to contribute nothing. An interesting selection would have been Merkin Valdez, whose live arm has been a hot topic for years, but an injury has prevented his recall.

Wisely, the Giants have no plans to call up first-round draft pick Tim Lincecum. Not that he couldn’t be a major addition. Reports have him throwing 101-mph fastballs and wicked curves for the San Jose Giants, where manager Lenn Sakata said he had the “best stuff I’ve ever seen” through six years of minor-league managing. It’s just that Lincecum puts a tremendous amount of strain on his arm with that radical throwing motion; a number of scouts have predicted serious elbow or shoulder problems for the kid. He needs to be shut down after a long season of collegiate and minor-league ball. Give that arm a rest, show up in spring training and try to win that closer’s job.